Community Health Needs Assessment

Rush is seeking public input on the community health needs identified in our most recent Community Health Needs Assessment[1] (CHNA). We have worked with the Health Impact Collaborative of Cook County, a consortium of 26 nonprofit and public hospitals, along with seven local health departments and representatives of more than 100 community organizations, to determine the biggest health needs of our community. This was a collaborative, data-driven endeavor, which we believe will benefit the communities we serve.

The four categories for community health needs for our fiscal year 2017-2019 assessment including the following:

Improve social, economic and structural determinants of health

Improve access to care and community resources

Improve mental and behavioral health

Prevent and reduce chronic disease

The needs have not changed drastically, but we are calling attention to social and structural determinants of health and whether or not communities have access to specific resources. The next step is the creation of a Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), which will be released publicly in November. The previous CHIP for Rush Oak Park Hospital fiscal year 2014-2016 can be found here[3].

If you would like to comment on or have questions about the defined needs, please contact Christopher Nolan, manager of community benefit and population health, at christopher_nolan@rush.edu[4].